What Retail Response does

Retail Response Ltd is a UK-based, privately held managed services provider founded in 2004 and headquartered in Wetherby, West Yorkshire. The company delivers end-to-end IT support services to multi-site retail, hospitality and (more recently) manufacturing operators across the UK and Ireland, including service desk support (1st/2nd/3rd line), nationwide on-site field engineering, systems implementation (IMAC) for POS and networking equipment, PCI/P2PE-compliant payment device handling, and IT project management. Its customer base includes New Look, Card Factory, WHSmith, L'Oréal, O2, Welcome Break, Waterstones, Space NK, McColl's, Hotter Shoes and Evergreen Garden Care, with several relationships exceeding ten years.

The company's core technology is a proprietary, in-house service management system providing real-time engineer location tracking, ticket management, installation sign-offs and 24/7 live stock inventory across warehouses, engineer vans and repair centres. Retail Response also operates an HP-accredited repair centre, a purpose-designed off-site build and staging facility at its Wetherby head office, and directly employs its nationwide field engineering workforce — a model designed to maximise first-visit fix rates and enable 4-hour engineer response SLAs. Adjacent offerings include the proprietary MD65 and MD75 mobile POS / inventory devices, and resale of the OMBEA Insights customer experience platform. The company's compliance stack — ISO 27001:2013, SafeContractor, PCI/P2PE, and Fair Payment Code Silver — supports its positioning with payment-handling enterprise retailers.

Revenue is generated primarily through recurring managed service contracts (Service Desk, On-Site Support, Systems Implementation, P2PE compliance, Project Management) priced on a quote basis tied to store count and service scope, with no long-term contract requirement. Secondary revenue streams include one-off project services for large rollouts, refurbishments and decommissions, direct hardware sales (MD65/MD75 priced from £200 per unit, with rental options), and partner-product resale (OMBEA Insights, Flooid, Enactor deployments). The go-to-market is direct enterprise field sales targeting large UK retailers and hospitality groups, supplemented by event presence (Retail Technology Show 2025) and trade press visibility (RTIH Innovation Awards 2025). Stefan Friberg is the founder and owner.

Name

Retail Response

Legal name

Retail Response Ltd

Website

https://retail-response.co.uk

Company type

Private

Founded year

2004

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Retail Response is a UK-based managed services provider delivering end-to-end IT support, service desk, on-site engineering, and systems implementation for multi-site retail, hospitality and manufacturing operators across the UK and Ireland.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Retail IT Support Services

NAICS

Telephone Call Centers (56142), Electronics and Appliance Retailers (44921)

SIC

Retail-Computer & Computer Software Stores (5734)

akta.pro primary industry

Customer-Facing Displays & Digital Signage for Checkout (HDACAKAF)

akta.pro secondary industry

POS Accessories & Spares (Cables, Stands, Cases, Replacement Parts) (HDACAKAL)

Keywords

• Retail IT support
• Managed services
• POS hardware support
• Field engineering services
• P2PE compliance

Headquarters

HQ city

Wetherby

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Supply Chain

Revenue model

1. Managed IT Support Services: Recurring managed service contracts for UK retailers and hospitality operators covering Service Desk, On-Site Support, Systems Implementation, P2PE compliance and Project Management. No long-term contract requirement; SLAs tailored per customer. Revenue is recurring contractual based on store count and service scope.
2. Hardware Sales (MD65 and MD75 Mobile Devices): Direct sale and rental of proprietary handheld Mobile POS / inventory management devices (MD65 priced from £200; MD75 from £200). Rental agreements on hardware also offered alongside installation and support packages.
3. Project Services (Installations, Rollouts, Decommissions): One-time / project-based professional services for store openings, system rollouts, refurbishments and decommissions (e.g., 4,000+ PoS upgrades for Card Factory; Aura Vision and 8x8 rollouts for O2; La Playlist rollout for GANT).
4. OMBEA Insights Customer Experience Platform: Resale/distribution of OMBEA customer feedback hardware and software modules (Anywhere, On-Site, Online) as part of in-store experience analytics offering to retailers.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Retail Response provides UK-based managed IT support services for retail and hospitality operators, including a 365-day UK Service Desk, nationwide on-site field engineering with directly employed technicians, Systems Implementation (IMAC for POS, scanning and networking), P2PE/PCI-compliant PED handling and stock management, and Project Management for store openings, rollouts and decommissions. The portfolio is complemented by proprietary MD65 and MD75 mobile POS hardware and an HP-accredited repair centre at its Wetherby head office.

Product overview

Retail Response is a UK-based retail and hospitality IT support specialist whose offering is organised as a portfolio of integrated managed-service modules rather than a single product. The core offering is the Managed Services suite, which packages a UK-based Service Desk (1st/2nd/3rd line support), nationwide On-Site Support with directly employed engineers, Systems Implementation (IMAC) for POS and networking equipment, P2PE Compliance and Stock Management, and Project Management — all orchestrated through the company's own bespoke Service Management System that provides real-time stock and ticket tracking. Layered on top are hardware Solutions, including the MD65 and MD75 mobile POS/label-printer devices, and customer-experience offerings such as OMBEA Insights. Retail Response also operates an HP-accredited repair centre at its Wetherby head office and provides P2PE-compliant PED handling with relationships across Verifone, Worldpay, Mastercard and Adyen, positioning the suite as an end-to-end retail IT support operation spanning helpdesk to field engineering to project rollouts.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• OMBEA Insights: Customer experience feedback solution offered by Retail Response, providing actionable insights across customer touchpoints through Anywhere, On-Site, and Online feedback modules.
• MD75
• MD65

Products and services

• Service Desk UK-based 1st, 2nd and 3rd line technical support available 365 days per year by phone, internet and email, providing remote diagnosis, single-point-of-contact supplier management and ticket escalation across POS, handheld scanning and in-store network issues for UK retail and hospitality operators.
• On-Site Support Nationwide field engineering service with directly employed engineers carrying replacement stock 365 days per year, able to attend a site within 4 hours of a call being logged and resolve faults on the first visit in compliance with agreed SLAs.
• Systems Implementation IMAC (Install, Move, Add, Change) provider for POS, handheld scanning and networking equipment across UK and Ireland, including rollout scheduling, test procedures, electronic sign-offs, real-time stock tracking via the bespoke service management system and PCI-compliant payment device installation.
• P2PE Compliance and Stock Management PCI-compliant P2PE service with secure storage and handling of PEDs (PIN entry devices) in engineers' vans and warehouses, providing live 24/7 stock inventory tracking through Retail Response's bespoke service management system, auditable stock reporting and relationships with Verifone, Worldpay, Mastercard and Adyen to expedite returns and replacements of faulty PEDs.
• Project Management Retail and hospitality IT project delivery service covering installations, surveys and decommissions, including a purpose-designed off-site build and staging area at the Wetherby head office, tailored documented processes with electronic sign-offs and tick sheets.
• MD65 Mobile Device Handheld mobile POS device featuring a high-speed Octa-Core CPU as standard, fully customisable with optional 2D Barcode Scanner, NFC Reader, IP66 rating and WiFi, priced from £200 per unit, used for inventory management and mobile POS in retail environments.
• MD75 Mobile Device Combined handheld terminal and label printer that prints both receipts and adhesive labels, running Android 9.0 with a 5.5-inch HD screen, optional 2D Barcode Scanner, NFC Reader and configurable WiFi/NFC variants, priced from £200 per unit.
• OMBEA Insights Customer experience feedback solution offered by Retail Response via partnership with OMBEA, providing actionable insights from every customer touchpoint through three feedback modules (Anywhere, On-Site touchless feedback terminal and Online), with a live dashboard providing real-time notifications and net promoter score tracking.

Quantifiable outcome

• 96% average SLA achieved across 400+ New Look stores over 12 months
• +5 more outcomes

Named customers13 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration1 record

Feature5 records

Partnerships

Four partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• VCG (formerly Vodat International)coreTechnology or IntegrationVCG is a leading UK supplier of private managed networks to retail, hospitality and leisure operators. Retail Response has partnered with VCG since 2005 to provide network equipment installation and support services to leading retailers across the UK. VCG holds ISO 27001 accreditation and has over 20 years of retail-sector experience.
• FlooidcoreTechnology or IntegrationFlooid is a SaaS point-of-sale platform provider serving retailers including Walgreens, M&S and Waitrose. Retail Response has worked in partnership with Flooid since 2016 to deliver store systems implementation and support services for retailers across the UK, including a 2025 4,000-lane PoS upgrade project for Card Factory.
• HP Inc.coreOEM/ Whitelabel/ Licensing PartnerHP is a global technology provider whose HP Retail Solutions business serves traditional and mobile retail technology needs. Retail Response is an HP service partner and operates an HP-accredited repair centre for HP retail products including barcode scanners, receipt printers and all-in-one retail systems.
• OMBEAminorOEM/ Whitelabel/ Licensing PartnerOMBEA provides customer experience / customer feedback hardware and software modules (Anywhere, On-Site, Online). Retail Response offers OMBEA Insights to its retail customers to gather feedback across all customer touchpoints, addressing the gap where 96% of unhappy experiences typically remain undiscovered via email surveys.

Scale indicators14 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Daisy Group: Major UK managed services and connectivity provider serving enterprise and mid-market customers with IT support, communications and cloud services — broader geographic and capability footprint than Retail Response but competes for similar multi-site contracts.
• Computacenter: European-headquartered IT infrastructure and services provider with significant UK presence, offering managed services, field engineering and hardware supply to enterprise retail and corporate customers — overlaps with Retail Response on retail managed services at much larger scale.
• SCC: Large UK and European IT services and solutions provider offering managed services, infrastructure support and hardware supply to enterprise and public sector customers, including retail — broader portfolio but overlapping capabilities.
• Centerprise International: UK-based IT services and solutions provider offering managed services, hardware supply and infrastructure support to enterprise, public sector and retail customers — comparable in UK footprint though broader in vertical mix.
• Bechtle: European-headquartered IT solutions and services provider with UK operations, offering managed services, hardware procurement and lifecycle support to enterprise customers — competes for similar multi-site IT support contracts in retail and adjacent verticals.

Direct peers

• SBL Services: UK-based IT support specialist providing on-site engineering, managed services and retail EPoS support to multi-site retail and hospitality operators — comparable in scope and customer profile to Retail Response.
• Retail Assist: UK-based IT support and managed services provider specialising in retail and hospitality, offering service desk, on-site engineering and PoS rollout services to UK enterprise retailers — directly comparable customer base and service portfolio to Retail Response.
• Northdoor plc: London-based IT consultancy and managed services provider serving UK enterprise clients across retail, financial services and other verticals, with overlapping service desk, infrastructure support and project delivery capabilities.
• Believe Technology Group: UK managed IT services provider offering on-site support, cloud and infrastructure services to SME and mid-market customers with multi-site operations — comparable service portfolio at smaller scale, competing for similar UK multi-site contracts.
• Glassbridge IT Services: UK-based IT managed services and field engineering provider focused on retail, hospitality and QSR operators with multi-site estates, offering similar on-site break/fix, IMAC and service desk capabilities to Retail Response's core managed services suite.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/retailresponse
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/retail-response-ltd-

Compliance5 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles4 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Retail Response